1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an adapter board, and specifically to an adapter board that can be used to allow the pin-out of a replacement power supply to match the pin placement of an end user circuit card. The adapter board can also include circuitry to improve the quality of the signal transferred between the power module and the end user circuit card.
2. Description of Related Art
Distributed power architecture anticipates the use of multiple power supply modules that are connected to the specific circuit cards requiring the power. The card requiring the power can have a plurality of specifically placed contact pads. A power supply is mounted to the pads as using a solder paste. The assembly is then subjected to heat that melts the solder paste. Upon cooling the solder paste hardens thus coupling the power supply to the circuit card.
As with most electrical components and electrical subassemblies, end users of power supplies may purchase commodity power supplies from multiple vendors. For example, several companies may sell a 48 Vdc to 3 Vdc power converter. However, the pin placement for the various power converters may not adequately match those on the end user""s card. In other words, the input, output and control signal pins may not be physically located in the same positions as their corresponding contact pads on the end user""s circuit card. Thus, these non-conforming power supplies cannot be coupled directly to the end user""s circuit card. A need exists for an adapter board that allows an end user to purchase a non-conforming power supply and effectively couple it to his circuit card. It should allow for effective current transition paths from the power modules pins to the card""s contact pads. One attempt at creating an adapter card is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,265,952 entitled xe2x80x9cAdapter for Surface Mounted Devices.xe2x80x9d FIG. 1 provides an exploded view of the adapter disclosed in the ""952 patent. In general, the adapter is directed to a surface mount device that includes a plurality of matched impedance input/output lines for connecting the surface mount device to a plurality of through hole pins. The adapter may be connected to a motherboard or other prototyping board for testing or prototyping the surface mount device. The adapter includes a printed circuit board having a top layer and bottom layer, and a footprint formed on the top layer of the printed circuit board for receiving the surface mount device. Impedance matching input/output lines are connected between a plurality of electrical pins of the surface mount device and a plurality of through hole pins attached to the printed circuit board.
FIG. 1 is an exploded view of an adapter 10 in a first embodiment. The adapter 10 includes a multi-layer printed circuit board (PCB) 14. The PCB 14 includes a top layer 12, a power layer 24, a ground layer 22, and a bottom layer 16. The power layer 24 is optional. Layers 12, 16, 22, and 24 may be secured in a conventional manner. The power layer 24 may be formed onto the layer 12 or on the bottom layer 16. Further, individual ground layers can be formed on the top layer 12 or the bottom layer 16. The PCB 14 may be molded from non-conductive high impedance material. For example, the PCB 14 may be formed from plastics, polymer, or resins. The top layer 12 includes a footprint for receiving an electrical component 50, such as a surface mount device. The electrical component 50 may be a gigahertz surface mount device. The footprint includes a plurality contact areas 20 for receiving a plurality of electrical leads or pins 55 extending from the bottom of electrical component 50. The electrical leads 55 and the electrical component 50 are secured to the contact areas 20 and footprint, respectively, by soldering or other suitable means.
FIG. 1 illustrates that each of the electrical contacts 20 is electrically connected to a corresponding pad by through hole pin assembly 70 via an input/output line 26. Each input/output line 26 is used to control the impedance of each component pin 55 to match the impedance of the electrical component 50. The input/output line 26 may be a 50 ohm transmission line or other suitable transmission line. This means that high frequency signals can be used to operate the electric component without excessive noise.
The through hole pin assembly 70 includes a through hole pin 75 and a clamp 78. The clamp 78 includes a top portion 78a and bottom portion 78b. The adapter 10 may include any number of pins 75 to secure the adapter 10 to a motherboard or prototyping board. The adapter 10 may have pins 75 dedicated to power and ground connections. Accordingly, these pins may be connected directly to planes 22 and 24. This means that no long wire traces need to be employed to connect the component to the power and/or ground connections on the motherboard as in known systems. The ground plane 22 and the power plane 24 may be connected to selected pins corresponding to power and ground pins on the electrical component 50. The ground and power planes 22 and 24 may be connected to the pins 55 or 75 using short electrical traces.
While FIG. 1 shows a simple adapter, this adapter does not provide any signal enhancement elements that could be used to improve the overall performance of the devices or to compensate for any noise introduced by the adapter. Therefore, a need exists for an improved adapter that can carry the higher current load associated with power modules and also one that has circuitry to reduce noise or otherwise enhance the signal from the power module to the end user""s circuit card.
The present invention provides an adapter for coupling a power module with a first pin configuration to an end user""s circuit card having a second pin configuration. The power module can be a DC-to-DC converter or an AC-to-DC converter or any other sort of power module. Additional components may be added to the adapter to improve performance, add features and result in a better match for existing equipment. The adapter can have a first surface and a second surface. The first surface can be populated with a first set of interconnects, while the second surface can be populated with a second set of interconnects.
The power module has a first pin configuration that engages the first set of interconnects. Further, the end user circuit board has a second pin configuration that engages the second set of interconnects of the adapter. Between the first and second set of interconnects are circuit paths that provide the appropriate connectivity between the power module and the circuit board.